


Behind the Scenes

by Niki



Series: Scenes [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: AU, Dating, First Kiss, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-06 19:16:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niki/pseuds/Niki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“...and the rest is history.” So how did Tony and Gibbs end up together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For everyone who asked for it:) I'm amazed by the reception the previous story got, and I hope you guys enjoy this as well. I don't usually start posting WIPs without knowing where they are going but this is more like a collection of stories from different parts of their relationship, so it might never be “finished” as such. I can't promise quick updates but at least I will promise no evil cliffhangers.
> 
> Thank you again to Neith, who made sure the movies weren't called “The Cop movie” and “The Occult movie”;)

Of course Gibbs knew who Tony DiNozzo was – he wasn't as unaware of popular culture as Abby liked to claim. He doubted there was anyone in the whole country or possibly the planet who wouldn't recognize the smile that had graced the covers of hundreds of magazines. He had even caught a tail end of one of his movies once, stuck on a hotel room with nothing better to do. And of course, Abby was a fan.

What he hadn't expected was the fact the man was even better looking in person. He wasn't smiling at the moment but his eyes were bright, intense... attractive. Gibbs pushed that thought away almost before it had formed and cuffed the man DiNozzo had just tackled to the ground, reading him his rights in a bored voice before turning back to the actor who had gotten up from the ground and was dusting his clothes.

“Nice tackle,” Gibbs said and there was the smile.

“College football,” DiNozzo said with a casual shrug, and Gibbs liked the humility in the statement – he wasn't expecting everyone he met to know everything about him. “And before you say anything, I know I shouldn't have. Don't worry, I have no illusions of cop-ness just because I play one. I just... reacted.”

Petty officer Kaminsky had been unaware of the NCIS agents closing in on his position until he had been spooked by fake gunfire from the close by movie set and took a closer look around him noticing Gibbs who he had already spoken to in connection of the case, the murder of his commanding officer.

Most ironic in the situation was that Gibbs hadn't been there to arrest him, just to clarify something he had said in his statement. But he decided to take the mad dash away as a confession. 

Kaminsky had run away seemingly blind to his surroundings, Gibbs following and gaining fast when they had both found themselves in the middle of the movie scene, and the tall man in a leather jacket had taken one look at the chase before launching himself at the running man. 

Gibbs' NCIS jacket may have helped in his decision of which one to detain. 

The junior agent that had been accompanying Gibbs had by now caught up to them and Gibbs let him take the petty officer back to their car. When he turned back to DiNozzo there were people surrounding him, some dusting his clothes, someone with a clipboard trying to rush him back to make up, but the actor himself kept his attention on Gibbs.

“I'll need his statement,” he found himself saying, and DiNozzo smiled at him again, ignoring all the flocking people.

“Coffee?” he asked, nodding towards the side where there was a table with refreshments.

Gibbs found himself returning the smile. “Please.”

“We need to have a press conference,” the guy with the clipboard was saying. “Just think about the free press! Hero of _Bleeding Blue_ fights crime in real life!”

“No,” said DiNozzo decisively. 

“But the PR...”

“No. I didn't do anything.”

Gibbs liked the man more every minute. “I can't release any details about an ongoing investigation and NCIS will deny any involvement.”

“Will he have to testify?” another guy with another clipboard asked, and judging by the way the other were deferring to him, someone higher up. “We need to know of any scheduling conflicts. Also, publicity...”

“Court martials are not public. I'll keep his name out of it. Now, that statement.”

“Five minutes, Mr DiNozzo,” said the suit with the clipboard.

“As long as it takes,” corrected Gibbs.

“Look, Mr...”

“Special Agent Gibbs.”

“Look, Special Agent Gibbs, do you have any idea how much it costs to...”

“No, nor do I care. Mr DiNozzo?”

“Do you really need a statement?” DiNozzo asked when they had coffee in their hands.

Gibbs just looked at him.

“Fine. We were in the middle of shooting a fight scene when I saw a guy obviously not part of the shoot run towards me, with another guy – obviously in law enforcement – chasing him. Instinct kicked in, and I tackled the chased who was then arrested by the chaser.”

“Thank you,” said Gibbs, not even bothering to write it down. 

“Can you really keep my name out of it?”

“Do my best.”

“Thank you. I don't want these people to use it for publicity, that's not why I did it.”

“So why did you do it?”

“Civic mindedness?” he suggested with a smile, and Gibbs found himself returning it again. 

He dug a business card from his pocket, making sure it was the one with his direct number.

“If you think of something else...”

DiNozzo grinned, and pocketed the card carefully. 

“Thanks for the coffee.”

\- - -

It was the work of minutes to make the junior agent vow to keep his mouth shut about the circumstances of the arrest beyond what he wrote in his report. Gibbs knew Abby would have loved to hear about him meeting DiNozzo but he didn't want the case to be overshadowed by the presence of Hollywood's golden boy.

He did have a question for Abby, though.

“Abs, what's that place in the Internet you go to... You know, when you check info about movies?”

“IMDB? That's for Internet Movie Data Base,” she said pronouncing the words slowly, one by one. “Why? You thinking of upgrading your pop culture knowledge?”

Gibbs considered not replying but it was Abby. “Saw an end of a movie the other night, still bugs me I couldn't place where I'd seen the actor before.”

“Which movie?” 

Luckily McGee stepped into the lab that moment and Gibbs made his escape. He returned to the bullpen and felt like checking out his surroundings furtively before opening his browser but knew no one would dare to say anything to him even if they saw what he was doing. He idly wondered if Abby would care enough to hack into his history, but it couldn't be helped without asking McGee how to hide his search, and that would just draw more attention to the whole thing.

He typed in the address, then DiNozzo's name into the search field. He was grinning in the picture next to his profile, looking nothing like the real smiles Gibbs had got. He clicked open the biographical info, noting his birth date and, yes, his marital status. 

There wasn't much, just that he'd lost his mother as a child, then spent years in boarding schools, and there was a hint that he wasn't getting along that well with his father. Gibbs could relate. The college football was there, he'd been going to go pro until a broken leg during his senior year had ended that dream.

He gave a lot to different charities, especially shelters to women and homeless teenagers, and one of his favorite possessions was his car, a Ferrari he bought from his first big pay check, apparently something to do with Magnum P.I. which was his favorite show. 

So, in the end, nothing really useful. If one of his agents returned this info to him as background on a person of interest, he'd kick them out.

Why was he even doing this? The man was a goddamn movie star. He smiled at dozens of people every hour. 

He closed his browser window, and concentrated on his report. 

\- - -

His phone rang that evening when he was working on the boat in his basement. He frowned at the unknown number. Usually only dispatch called him after nine.

“Gibbs.”

“It's Tony DiNozzo.”

Gibbs froze, and for a second couldn't get a word out. “Hello.”

“I thought of something,” he said, and Gibbs could hear the smile in the voice.

“Oh yeah?”

“I thought you should buy me a coffee.”

“Is that so.”

“Yep. I have a surprise day off tomorrow, and I thought... I could come to DC.”

“Pretty long way to drive for a cup of coffee.”

“Not if the company's right.”

Was he flirting? Was it a date? Well, he was going to say yes, anyway. They settled a place and a time, and for once Gibbs didn't end the call without a word.

What the hell did one wear for maybe-a-date with a goddamn movie star?


	2. Chapter 2

Since they were meeting in a sports bar, Gibbs skipped the court suit and dug up the one pair of jeans he owned that Abby approved of. He thought they were too tight for comfort but apparently they did something to his ass she had described only using her eyebrows.

He told himself he was behaving like a teenager with his first crush while ironing his shirt. It wasn't like he'd never been on a date before. Even with a man. 

But for some reason this mattered, and it wasn't just because of what DiNozzo was, or the uncertainty of his motives for the invitation. 

He was early but the other man was already there, sitting at the back of the bar, his face obscured by a baseball cap, dressed as casually as Gibbs and nursing a beer. His welcoming smile was wide and happy, brightening his whole face and Gibbs couldn't help but think that it meant something more than his “public” smile.

“Hope you don't mind the place,” DiNozzo said after they'd exchanged greetings. “But, well, I sorta blend in here. I don't mind the attention, or the fans, I have no patience for actors who do – we chose the job – but I wanted some peace today.”

“Doubt they have good coffee though.”

“I'm willing to accept a beer instead.”

“I suppose next round is on me, then.”

\- - -

Gibbs was surprised how easy it was to talk to the man. On the surface it would seem they had nothing in common, but Tony – as he asked to be called – was genuinely interested in him, his life, his job, what ever he chose to share. He was filled with funny stories from movie sets, and Gibbs found himself sharing some stories from work, talking about Abby, his boat... 

“So, what's the movie about?” he asked at one point.

“Bleeding Blue? A Baltimore detective finds out his partner is dirty but can't do anything about it, loses his fiancée because of it and generally loses faith with the Police. He is recruited for a long undercover operation, jumps at the chance, and ends up falling in love with his target, a daughter of a known arms dealer. Action happens.”

“Sounds too messy to end well.”

“Well, it's a DiNozzo movie – explosions and a happy ending guaranteed.”

“I think I might have to watch a few of your movies then.”

\- - -

“So, you married?” Tony asked, oh-so-casually, at one point.

“Divorced. Three times.” He thought about Shannon, briefly, then brushed the thought aside fast, not wanting to ruin what was rapidly starting to resemble a date more and more.

“Three times? You don't give up easy, do you?”

“That's not what they said.”

They talked and laughed and finished their beers, and the next round, and the next, until Tony asked whether he was hungry.

“I could eat,” he said. 

“Know a good place close by?”

In the interests of anonymity he chose a little diner that had good burgers but didn't look like a place where one would expect to run into a celebrity. Still, after a dark bar the diner felt much more exposed, and they were both much more conscious of it if Tony's fidgeting was to be believed. 

There were more silences now, less laughter but still it wasn't awkward, wasn't forced. Gibbs wouldn't mind doing it again even though he still wasn't sure what they were doing – they did flirt, but it was subtle, something one could pretend didn't mean anything, was just joking. As if reading his mind, Tony took a deep breath, and set his glass down slowly. 

“Look... I've had a great time, and I hope you have too.”

“Yes,” he said, simply, not going to play coy.

“And I want to see you again. I want to see a lot more of you.” This time his grin made it damn clear which meaning of the double entendre he wanted to come across.

“I'm... not very good at casual,” Gibbs warned.

“I'm very good at it,” Tony said, and this time there was an edge of bitterness to his smile. “Being who I am... this is always harder than it used to be before... before I was famous.” The matter-of-fact way he talked about it had pleased Gibbs since the beginning. He didn't try to play it down but also wasn't conceited. “But this... with a guy... I would never risk it for casual.”

There it was. Both of their intentions on the table. It was a date, and they both wanted to keep... dating. 

“I don't know what it is, I swear I don't usually do this, I just...” Tony was rambling, and damn, blushing? Gibbs decided to help him out. 

“I know. I mean... me too.”

“Do you feel like a kid on a first date, too?” Tony asked suddenly, grinning, and Gibbs burst in laughter again.

“You should laugh more,” Tony said, the grin toned down into something that bordered on tender. 

“Stick around, and I bet I will.”

“I'd love to. But... I have to get back to Baltimore before I turn into a pumpkin.”

“Wouldn't that be your car?”

“It's a rental, I wouldn't care.”

\- - -

Gibbs walked him to his car but Tony pulled him to a stop before they reached it, leading him towards an empty alley. He wasn't smiling now, he looked almost insecure, and even though he tried to tell himself the man was an actor who reportedly had had hundreds of one night stands, Gibbs still found it endearing.

He raised his hands to cup Tony's face, leaning in slowly, and the younger man closed his eyes and leaned forward, meeting his lips in a tentative kiss. His lips were soft, softer than any guy Gibbs had ever kissed, warm, and even the light touch made his body tingle.

Oh yeah, definitely something worth a second date.

\- - -

Next day he received a text message at work, and couldn't help but smile when he saw Tony's name on the screen. 

_I don't suppose you'd like a trip to Baltimore?_

It took him a while to type his reply – _Miss me already?_ – but the reply made it worth it.

_Yes._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's the day for presents where I live, so here it finally is: the next chapter. 
> 
> Hope everyone is having a nice Thursday!

_Miss me already?_

_Yes._

It took Gibbs a week to get to Baltimore. Tony kept texting him every day, as if they'd both decided calling would be too much, or not enough, for the moment. 

Gibbs even occasionally replied. 

It wasn't anything too deep, almost random at times, Tony asking him about his favorite sport teams, and once how he felt about silk sheets. That wasn't a text Gibbs replied to, because he was at work at the time, and he really did not want to get into that discussion there. If anywhere.

They couldn't risk being seen out together too many times, so Gibbs headed to the the hotel Tony was staying in. It was big enough that no one paid attention to yet another guest walking through the lobby like someone who knew where he was going.

Tony didn't have a penthouse suite or anything outrageous like that, so it was easy enough to exit the elevator on his floor and, as the corridor was clear, knock on one of the five doors on the floor.

He wasn't nervous, not really. But maybe he wasn't quite calm either, and when Tony opened the door and gave him that radiant not-for-public smile, his heart may have given just a slight twinge. Damn, but he was in too deep already.

Then he saw Tony swallow before telling him to get in, and felt relieved at the visible sign of nerves on the other man too.

“Drink?”

“Coffee?”

“Should have known.”

There was a pot on a tray on a table by the huge windows overlooking the city, and Gibbs accepted a cup with a nod. Things were awkward between them in a way they hadn't yet had time to have been. He felt like he should have said something, but never having been one for small talk, settled for looking at Tony.

The man was even better looking than he had remembered, and how the hell was that even possible? He was wearing dark slacks and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, still managing to look more like an ad for men's fashion than casual.

“To hell with this,” Tony said, after the silence had gone on for long minutes, and before Gibbs had time to even worry, the other man had stepped closer, and was leaning in for a light kiss.

“I really did miss you,” he said, and Gibbs put his coffee cup down to kiss him properly.

\- - -

He wanted more, of course he did, but he was determined to not screw this up, so they stopped at kissing. 

But it did manage to break the ice.

“I'm so glad you came,” Tony said after they had sat down on one of the lush sofas littering the room. 

It may not be a penthouse suite, but it was too big and opulent for just one person, and for Gibbs who was more used to crappy motels when cases forced the team to travel, it felt ridiculous. He said as much.

“I know! But I have to play the part, don't I? The hotel would be upset if I stayed in an economy room. And, yeah, you get used to the space and the privacy. I don't miss the cramped lodgings of my car from when I was first starting out.”

“You never lived in your car.”

“I did! For two weeks.” His grin was unrepentant, and Gibbs just shook his head, smiling.

“How the hell are we going to do this?” Tony asked, sobering up. “I want you in my life, any way I can get you, but I am what I am, and everything I do gets so damn much attention.”

“I couldn't exactly do my job with flocks of paparazzi following me around on crime scenes.”

“I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get the jobs I'm getting now if I was out. Which sucks, but what do you do. I learned pretty fast that to do what I wanted to do I'd have to make some sacrifices.”

“Your sexuality?”

“Among other things. I like women well enough. Hell, I love women. For a while I was like the kid in a candy store, because so many women suddenly wanted me. But even the kid'll get sick eventually.”

“I suppose that's not literal.”

Tony laughed again, his solemn mood lifting. “Nope. My old man may not have been good for much, but he did teach me to keep it wrapped up.”

“Haven't talked to my dad for years,” Gibbs found himself saying, then realized there was no way he'd explain why, so he changed the subject back to their plans.

“I won't be able to travel here much, I work all the time.”

“The filming will only go on for few more weeks, then I have some time off before my next job. Maybe... I don't suppose you can take a vacation.”

“Not on such short notice, no.”

“But if I were to... I don't know, stick around, would you have time for me?”

“I'll make time,” Gibbs promised, and had his own 'to hell with this' moment, and just kissed the younger man again. 

Tony was a good kisser, probably even objectively, but good with Gibbs, definitely. Not too aggressive, but not too timid, not slobbering, but not too technical either. His lips were still soft, his tongue eager, and the desire to just pull him close, closer, until they were skin on skin was getting really quite insistent.

“Don't wanna rush,” Tony gasped against his lips, and it felt so right to be so in tune about this.

The few men Gibbs had been with over the years had all been too invested in the physical side of it, too eager to just get naked, or to get off, and it was alright, it wasn't as if he'd been looking for a relationship with them, but this, here, now, with Tony... he wanted so much more than just a quick roll in the hay that it should have scared him to death.

He'd rushed into three marriages, looking for the fit he'd once had, and they had all crashed and burnt. He wasn't ready to compare this to his first love, but dammit if it didn't feel like something big.

“We got time,” he replied, tilting his head back, Tony's lips traveling down his neck, teeth scraping the skin like he wanted to bite down. It made Gibbs feel like a teenager that he almost wished he did. He wasn't much for marking, usually, but to have that proof on his skin to take home with him? That was almost as tempting as the knowledge it would feel good.

“You mean that?”

It took Gibbs a second to remember what Tony was replying to.

“Not going anywhere,” he promised. Then, “Well, have to go home eventually.”

“Stay? The night?”

“Tony...”

“I'll sleep on the couch, there are three bedrooms, we don't even have to sleep, I just... I want to... It's so scary, falling so hard and so fast and I want to keep you close so that I can believe it's real, that I'm not alone in this. I'm not, right? You feel it too? It's not just sex?”

He looked so young at that moment, it should have made Gibbs feel like a dirty old man, but Tony wasn't a kid, and definitely not inexperienced, except, maybe in relationships.

“You ever been in a long term relationship?” he asked, figuring he should know what he was getting into. 

He sat up from where they'd been leaning against the back rest, and Tony pulled back, just his hands still touching Gibbs.

“I was engaged once,” Tony admitted. “Wendy was... she wrote the score to one of my earlier movies and I met her at one of the release parties. We hit it off right away and I proposed pretty soon after. I have a bad habit of falling fast. But she wanted the Tony DiNozzo she'd met at the party. Not the Tony at home. You know, the guy who has a suspect sense of humor, who doesn't always want to go out to party, and who leaves wet towels on the floor. So... I need to be sure you know what you're getting into.”

“I don't know...” Gibbs could see the worry on Tony's face but kept his own serious. “I was a marine. I take those towels pretty seriously.”

“Bastard!” Tony yelled, and tackled him down on the sofa, kissing him through his laughter.

“So my one engagement against your three marriages...”

“Four,” Gibbs said, softly. “Just... leave it at that, for now. But... four.”

He couldn't believe he was talking about that, but like with his dad, the words, the truths, just kept surfacing. 

Tony was too important to screw up with staying silent about everything.

\- - -

He did spend the night, and they even shared a bed. They stayed clothed, though, and just talked until they fell asleep, mid-sentence. Of course, Tony did most of the talking, but Gibbs encouraged his stories, and even shared a few of his own. 

It wasn't even that weird to be talking so much, opening up to someone again. It was... he hated to be making the comparison so soon, but it almost felt like with Shannon. Like being young and falling in love, and wanting to know everything about someone, and being comfortable with them knowing you. 

And Tony listened. For someone so chatty, he was surprisingly good at it. It probably shouldn't have surprised him so much, but Tony was someone who had to have been used to being the center of attention, and talking about himself, his projects, and getting paid for it, so it still did.

“I want to know you,” Tony said simply, when he remarked on it. “I've never met anyone who... I don't even know. I don't know why I trust you so much. I'm risking so damn much here but I feel... I feel safe doing this. You know? Does that even make any sense to you? I'm not just risking my heart here.”

“Trust me, I know.” 

“I guess DADT is kind of a good analogue.” 

“Doesn't apply to us. We're civilians as far as the Navy is concerned.”

“Still. You were a marine. Are a marine. Isn't that how it works?”

Gibbs just shrugged, because yes, and yes, he did know, and yes, it was as good a comparison as any.

\- - -

The talking didn't stop with his visit. They'd broken the ice and now could talk in the phone, which made the separation easier. The texts still kept coming from Tony, too. 

_If the director makes me walk into this goddamn room one. More. Time... We're not doing Shakespeare here, this is a damn action movie._

_Your hair is so much softer than it looks._

_Did you know manatees are sometimes called sea cows?_

_Yes, I am killing time in a make up chair, why do you ask?_

_Walked past a cafe and it made me think of you._

_At this rate, I will never be able to forget you._

_Of course, right now, that doesn't seem like a horrible thing._

They made him smile at inopportune moments, which was enough to make his team visibly freak out every now and then. He liked to keep them on their toes.

He also liked the fact he had something to smile about again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Yeah, posting more stuff this December didn't really happen, but there will hopefully be something more this year.)


End file.
